Checkmate
by 2-Rabid-Fangirls
Summary: A short, ongoing oneshot, romantic story involving Fuji Shuusuke and an OC.


Disclaimer: I don't own the Prince of Tennis Characters, nor do I make any money from this, this is purely to keep my mind from going numb with gnome overload.

AN: Uhm, yeah, first time I've actually typed out and shared my fan fiction, this is usually just between my friends and I. So, if it sucks ignore it, if it rocks...uhm...you can also ignore that, I didn't mean to, I swear! And I apologize in advance for any tense changes that happen, I check, check and triple check, but I'm sure I missed at least one.

ANx2: OH, and special cookies to those who catch the crossover refernces! muahahahaha!

It started off innocently enough, I'd just entered the room as a lone figure moved a piece on the board before moving on. Curiosity got the better of me as I waited for others to arrive, counting tables to see which game he was playing. Eyes widening I realized it was my table and strode over to look at the chess board. There I stood until a similar figure walked in, "Playing without me?" Miki asked.

"Hmm, oh, no, this is the board I set up to play against anyone who wanted a challenge," the two didn't have to look at each other to know the implied part of the sentence… _since no one can beat me._ Moving my queen's rook I blocked the newest advance. My sister stood frowning at the table as well. "Well whomever it is, they're giving you a run for your queen." A small grunt was my only response to that statement.

It took me two days to figure out who it had been, but by then curiosity was eating at me. Another two moves had not only put my queen in check but taken serious concentration to keep it even on the board. Snapping open an umbrella I wandered out to an area of the school I rarely went to, the tennis courts. Shaded I stood back from the gathered crowd, my eyes searching for the person that had been described to me. _Tall brunette, he's always smiling, you can't miss him._ Even though I searched everywhere I couldn't find anyone matching that description.

"If you want, you can move closer, tennis is much easier to watch when you can actually see the ball," a soft voice said from nearby.

Shaking my head, not turning, "I don't care to watch, I'm merely looking for someone, but he doesn't seem to be there."

"Oh? Who are you looking for?" now the voice seemed amused and with a start I realized what I sounded like, a groupie. Glaring I turned, my mouth open to rip them apart.

"It's not…" blinking I tipped back my sunshade and grimaced at the smiling brunette standing there. "You, well damn, no wonder you weren't on the court. Fuji Shuusuke I presume?" Instead of responding he merely tipped his head to the side. "Fine, I'll take that as a yes." Turning on my heels I breathed deeply, my eyes wide in the shadows. _Now I know what Sunako meant by melting! This is not good, I need to get back inside._ But a hand on my shoulder made me freeze.

"Why were you looking for me," Fuji asked as I turned around. Suddenly his eyes opened and in a panic I pressed a hand to my nose, feeling the capillaries there threaten to burst and give me a nosebleed. "You're the one I've been playing chess with aren't you?" Eyes wide I nodded my head even as I backed away. With his eyes staring into my face, his very, very blue eyes, I could literally feel my blood vessels explode and could feel the blood trickling out of my nose. But he followed, and I soon found myself stuck in front of a tree. Since I couldn't run I retreated into myself, the umbrella tilting down.

"Uh uh, none of that," he teased and I squeaked in horror as my black umbrella was wrestled out of my hands. Wide brown eyes met piercing blue and I couldn't speak. His thumb and forefinger grasped my chin and tilted it up as he looked at my face. "In that uniform I would have assumed you were a boy. However, that aside I'm wondering why you're so interested just because I've been beating you at chess."

Indignant I glared at him, "I'm not loosing! Merely making use of strategic retreat." At least that's what I said, but with my hand covering my nose it came out much less understandable. His confused look prompted me to drop my hand and repeat myself.

"Mmm," he murmured, reaching into his pocket he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped my face, the white linen now stained with my blood. Lifting a brow he went to wipe my face again, but with a blush I snatched away the fabric and did it myself. "Fine, I'll concede your not loosing, but you're not winning either." His lashes lowered and once again those blue eyes were covered. Turning on his heels he waved a hand. "Good luck."

That was only the beginning.

It took three more weeks, but I finally, _finally,_ had the king. Crowing I swept my queen in and pinned the black king, he had no where to run, no where to hide. Brushing my hands I looked around and frowned. No one was there for my moment of triumph, well damn. Glancing at my watch I debated, quickly, then pulled on my jacket and grabbed my umbrella. It was time to gloat.

Strolling along the school grounds I again went over my decision, like a general picking apart a military campaign. It was the right decision, he needed to know he was beaten. Glancing up I noted I was nearing the courts. Pausing I ran my gaze over the small group and picked out my prey. He was playing that freshman who'd transferred from America. I only knew of him by coincidence. Everyone seemed to assume that if you had American blood you were automatically related to everyone else. His first day there I'd fielded dozens of questions of whether they knew each other, it was very vexing.

A familiar streak of blonde ran past and I did a double take as Saki ran past. Well it made sense didn't it, she was a track and field guru, she would be running around the sports area. Shrugging mentally I turned my attention back to the game. It seemed simple enough, a matter of combining physics with geometry, as well as a bit of muscle. Yet, somehow my planned 'minute or two' turned into quite a bit more, and as storm clouds rolled in it was only the sound of distant thunder that broke the hypnotic pull. Blinking furiously as a tall brunette broke up the game I strolled a bit closer, content with the sound of rain hitting my umbrella.

As the smaller figure left I stepped into Fuji's line of sight, though he gave no indication I had surprised him. Lifting my head a bit I smirked at his wet face. "You lost."

Stepping in under the umbrella, his eyes still open from the match, he grinned as I blanched and resisted the urge to see if my nose was bleeding. "No, the game was halted, you can't play tennis in the rain you know."

Blinking, my brain grinding slowly because of his proximity, and the fact that when wet his white tennis clothing was nearly transparent, I finally understood. "Oh, no, not the tennis game, though I see why rain would impede you. Decreasing the friction coefficient would make it very hard for a player to keep up with his opponent, no matter that he'd be similarly affected. And while I've not dissected a tennis ball I imagine the absorption of water would change the aerodynamics of the ball. I was actually speaking of the chess game. Your king is hopelessly pinned, so as you can see, I do not loose." Again, I smirked up at the very wet Fuji, my ego providing a slight buffer to the charisma that previously overwhelmed me.

"Hmm," he grunted, his eyes closing slowly. "Well, I don't suppose I could tempt you into playing tennis…at least I am pretty sure I could beat you at that." Without me realizing he steered us out of the rain and to a building. Stepping inside he carefully took away my umbrella and closed it before handing it back to me. Reaching into a cubby he pulled out a towel and slowly dried his hair, his normal smile on his lips, as though he could tell how much willpower it took for me to not blatantly stare at his soaked chest.

Mentally reciting a chunk of the NASDAQ stock listings I tried to pull my wits together. Unconsciously I licked my lips then tipped my head up to remove the temptation of his chest from my line of sight. While I had a witty comback prepared what came out of my mouth was decidedly not. "I think you could tempt a nun into bed." With a horrified gasp I covered my mouth with both hands, dropping my forgotten umbrella. Knowing my face was bright red I took a step back as his eyes showed an amused glint, tempered with something else.

"Oh? Are you a nun then," draping the towel over his shoulders he took a step towards me, his hand invading my bubble to touch the hair behind my right ear. Lowering his head to mines he leaned closer, "Because I think it might be very fun to tempt you…" Even as I started to loose color, feeling faint, he closed his eyes and leaned back. "Into playing at least one game."

Giving into the panic I felt I bolted. My face burning, my skin tingling where it nearly felt his touch, and my nose dripping blood in a steady stream I ran from the small building and into the rain. A dozen feet out I realized I was soaked, my umbrella sitting somewhere in the room I'd just left. It was not an option to go back for it, instead I ran faster finally making it to the main building. Slamming in the door I took a shaky breath and leaned over, my hands on my knees.

"Get caught in the rain?" a famliar voice asked from a few feet away. Screaming I stumbled back and lifted my eyes to my sister's face. Pressing my hand to my chest I nodded and swallowed. There was no way I was going to tell her what had happened. Not now, not ever.

Taking a slow, deep breath, I stood and gave a wry smile. "What can I say, I'm not the brightest bulb, I seem to have lost my umbrella. Why were you looking for me?" I figured the offensive would work best, Miki wouldn't be wandering around without a reason.

"Oh, right, well it was a twin thing," this was our code for the times that the others emotions seemed to carry over to the other person. She must have felt my unease earlier, and so came looking for me. Looking into my face she seemed to be searching for something, "Are you okay?"

"Yep, just peachy, I just scared myself silly when I was heading in. I somehow startled a white racoon, scared the beejesus out of me when it bolted." Linking my arm with hers I sighed and we began head off. "I've had a long day, lets head home, I have a feeling mom will be up in arms if she realizes we snuck out in the wrong uniform today."

The next day, after mom did indeed throw a fit over the wrong uniforms being worn, fully attired in my mint green uniform I stopped to change shoes. Lifting the door of my locker I gasped, tucked inside was my umbrella. Glancing around in a panic I looked to see who might be watching as I pulled out the innocent accessory. A note fell to the ground, eyeing it the same as most people would a cockroach I hesitantly stooped to pick it up. Chewing on my lip I unfolded it and read, then reread the simple message. Crumpling the note I slammed my shoe locker and stormed off to class, thankfully Miki had been stopped by Saki, something to do with the student council meeting. Otherwise there would have been no way to keep it a secret.

Seething until lunch I practically jumped out of my seat. _If that, that…tennis 'so-called' genius though he could… _slamming the door on my turbulent thoughts I practically sprinted toward the tennis courts. Unmindful of the sun blazing down I stalked him. Glarring at him from the side of the field I crossed my arms and tapped my foot until he disengaged himself from the others and came over, smiling like nothing was wrong.

"I see you got my note…" I didn't give him time to finish, this time it was my turn to lead him off. Rounding a corner I turned, forcing him to stop quickly as I jabbed a finger into his chest. "I am **_not_** afraid of you…you….you…obnoxious jerk!" Stepping a bit closer I jabbed him again and glared up at him. Before I could let out another tirade he closed the distance even more, grasping my chin with his thumb and forefinger he tipped my head up.

"You're awefully cute when you're defensive." His blue eyes seemed to liquefy my insides. "While I think the girl's uniform suits you much more, you may want to change…that is if you're willing to put your…money where your mouth is." With a half smile he stepped back, the proximity finally haven gotten to me, as was clearly evident from my dripping nose. "After last bell, if I don't see you I'll know you chickened out." Strolling off he tucked his arms behind him in an overly relaxed pose.

It took me a few minutes before my scrambled wits reformed. Noting the time I barely had time to get back to class before lessons resumed. Miki gave me a concered look, but I flashed her a smile and shook my head. I'd have to tell her something, but what exactly that would be I had no idea.

The rest of the day was a blur…which was a shame, I really did enjoy my classes. But, by the last bell I'd come up with a plausible excuse. Gathering up my books I stopped at my twins desk. "Miki, I have to go by the art room, would you mind heading off without me today? The teacher wants help with inventory." I knew this would be a reasonable thing to expect her to avoid. While we did a lot of things together she didn't share my love of art.

"Oh, sure, not a problem. I'll just swing by and see how dad is doing." Which really meant she'd swing by and see what trouble dad had caused in the last few days.

"Thanks, you know you're my favorite twin," I hugged her tight with one arm even as I began to mentally figure out how to keep her from hearing about everything later.

"Don't worry, I won't tell the others you said that," she laughed as she gathered up her things to leave. Walking to the main hallway we went our separate ways. Once I was sure she was gone I bolted to my gym locker. Thankfully my gym clothes would be appropriate for Fuji's challenge. Changing quickly I barely made it to the court at the designated time. Panting I looked around, no Fuji. Irate I stood up straighter and looked around. _The rat! After all this he's a no show._

Checking my watch I waited as the hour crept along. Twenty minutes after last bell I finally heard the door of the nearby building close and I lifted my head expectantly. Sure enough there he was, asinine grin and all. "I guess this means you forfit." I snidely called out.

"Oh, how do you figure?" he asked.

"Last bell was twenty minutes ago. If I loose by failing to be on time the same can be said for you." Thankful to escape the challege that easily I moved to walk past him, off the court. A hand settled on my shoulder, stopping me instantly. Not from force, but the shock of his touch. Outside of my sister no one casually touched me, at least not without my permission.

"Fine, I'll conceed on account of time…but you owe me a boon." his soft voice made me want to curl my toes into my shoes. With extreem willpower I didn't give into it however.

"A boon? How do you figure? You lost, loosers don't get rewards." Focusing on the doorway I kept my breathing even. With a small start I realized that I no longer felt faint, as I often had around him.

"I did return your umbrella…though I was tempted to throw it away. You weild it like a weapon…and I bet it usually works to keep others away doesn't it?" Glancing over my shoulder I realized his eyes were open, accessing me.

Lifting my chin I ignored his later question, "Fine, what boon?" Mentally I ran through the options, money was usually the goal of others when they found out about my family. Grade help was another option, everyone wanted to be higher on the curve. Even time was a likely cantidate, he seemed to be the sort that needed other around him.

With a small amount of pressure he turned me to face him, ducking his head he brushed his mouth against mine befor I could even register his intent. Stepping back he let his eyes close, his smile settling back on his face. "I'll consider us even."

Blinking I merely stood there as he wandered off. Lifting my hand to my lips I swore I could still feel the touch of his mouth, and with a gasp I knew that he'd been the one to put me in checkmate, not the other way around.

Arriving home I paused at the door to Miki's room, taking a deep breath I stepped inside. As she glanced up from her spreadsheet, I noted it was the latest stock plan we'd come up with, I curled up on her fainting couch. "So, I've been thinking….what would you say to setting up a few chess boards around campus…give a few non-club members the option of challenging themselves…."


End file.
